Investment In India | "Investment to seal tighter Asian links"

By: DAVID CROWE AND DENNIS SHANAHAN
Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au
Category: Investment In India

The Asian Century white paper will set out investment policies to tighten links with key neighbours including China, India and Indonesia as differences over foreign ownership divide the Coalition.

The plan will also call for an overhaul of school and university education to make Asian languages a core part of the curriculum, warning that the country has gone backwards on Asian literacy in recent decades.

The Prime Minister and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hosted this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Community forum in Vladivostok, both urged deeper economic integration in the region and backed university educational exchanges at every level.

At the 2012 APEC meeting in Russia's far east, at the site of the new Far East Federation University, leaders agreed to lower tariffs on 54 environmentally friendly products and increase mobility among universities throughout the Asia-Pacific. In concluding the forum yesterday, Mr Putin said the Asia-Pacific was now the area for world growth and that Russia was deliberately "turning east" because of the economic woes of the traditional European trading partners. Mr Putin said he hoped there would be greater and more direct links between Asia and Europe through Russia's land transport and the shipping lanes.

"All APEC economies are 'future lookers' and we want shared goals in education and business," Mr Putin said.

Before leaving the APEC forum to be with her family in Adelaide after her father's death, Ms Gillard told the ABC's Australia Network she would not comment on what was in the white paper, but said: "I would make this point. We are already at record expenditure for scholarships for people from our region to come and study in Australia.

"That's great for us, those people-to-people links, those future leaders of nations in our region, actually getting an experience in Australia. Obviously, I want to encourage young Australians to get out and do the same," she said. "We're very pleased that Russia, in its leading of APEC this year, has put this squarely on the agenda.

"The easier it is, the better for Australian universities who are very export-oriented and want to take Australian education into the region."

The Asia Century paper is being drafted by a taskforce led by former Treasury secretary Ken Henry. It is intended to be a statement of government policy intent, making the cabinet deliberations crucial to its final form.

Other members of the taskforce include Australian National University emeritus professor of economics Peter Drysdale, Corrs Chambers Westgarth chief executive John Denton, Telstra chairwoman Catherine Livingstone and three top public servants from departments representing the Prime Minister, Treasurer and Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The paper is understood to be in its final stages but must be signed off by a cabinet committee including taskforce members. This could take until the end of the month, leading to the release of the policy document in October.

Mr Denton said Australia's acceptance of Japanese foreign investment provided a model for a new agreement with China that could support growth while easing fears about foreign ownership.

"One of the lessons we should learn is the benefit of being a stable liberal democracy with an open economy," Mr Denton told The Australian.

"The relationship with Japan is a model for the relationship we need to foster with China, India and Indonesia."

Mr Denton said the way the Australian economy was opened up to Japanese investment showed great political leadership given the legacy of World War II.

"Look at the level of leadership that was shown in developing that relationship," he said.

"Think about the challenge involved. The political leadership was very important.

"That's the sort of approach you need to have."

Mr Denton said the relationship with India needed a stronger focus after years of mixed results, partly because Australia did not have a clear idea of how it wanted the bilateral relationship to develop.

Mr Denton said the white paper would set out clear pathways for education including improving language skills at all levels of school as well as universities, where there was a "real opportunity" to develop more expertise.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/markets/investment-to-seal-tighter-asian-links/story-e6frg94o-1226468546317

Business In India | "Finland wants good business with India"

By: Arunim Bhuyan
Source: http://www.smetimes.in
Category: Business In India

Finland is determined to do business with India, especially in areas of clean energy technology, despite the problem of excessive bureaucratic procedures involved in pushing through projects, says the country's Foreign Trade Minister Alexander Stubb.

"I have heard some murmurs of excessive paper work (in pushing projects through) but we are determined to do business with India," Stubb told IANS here.

Asked about the prospects and challenges of doing business in India, he said though bilateral trade is increasing, it is important to have a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and India in place.

"We feel that it is important. When it comes to FTA between EU and India, among the issues where negotiations are ongoing are, for example, services and the automotive industry."

Finnish exports to India totalled 625 million euros ($788.5 million) in 2011 while Indian exports to this Nordic nation stood at 670 million euros ($845.3 million).

Stubb said the EU had not always been fair in trade policies, but Finland seeks a dignified approach to this.

"The EU and the US have not always been practising fair trade. In my former position as foreign minister, I proposed a new approach to foreign policy, notably dignified foreign policy, and this could be applied to trade too," said Stubb.

The minister also stressed on engaging developing countries in adopting clean energy technology.

"The future of technology is environmentally clean energy. Despite higher costs of clean technology, we need to get the emerging economies into the loop," Stubb said.

Highlighting how Finnish companies are going more and more the clean technology way, he said: "Neste Oils, which was once known for traditional oils, today makes biofuels. Kemira, once a chemicals manufacturing major, is today majorly into water treatment technology."

Asked about the Eurozone crisis, Stubb said that instead of contrasting the current situation with the good days of the early 2000s, one should instead compare this with the crisis of the 1990s.

"Some (people) mistakenly attribute this crisis to the rise of new economic blocs like BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) and MIST (Mexico-Indonesia-South Korea-Turkey). But the fact of the matter is that this crisis has arisen out of public sector overspending and the banking crisis. We understand that it has had ripple effects across the global economy," Stubb told a group of visiting Indian journalists.

He referred to the four-pronged strategy to resolve the crisis. The EU has put in place aid mechanisms and rescue packages for Ireland, Portugal and Greece as well as agreed on recapitalisation on Spanish banks and tighter rules on public spending.

"Now we try to drive down Italian interest rates; and wait for new decisions from the ECB. In the mid-term perspective, we will be building a banking union; and in the long-term perspective we need to aim at growth."

Source: http://www.smetimes.in/smetimes/news/top-stories/2012/Sep/07/finland-wants-good-business-with-india.html

Foreign Investment In India | "Indian PM vows to attract more foreign investment"

By: BEN SHEPPARD
Source: http://india.nydailynews.com
Category: Foreign Investment In India

Indian Premier Manmohan Singh on Wednesday used his Independence Day speech to promise to improve conditions for foreign investment in the country after a sharp downturn in economic growth.
India recorded near double-digit expansion over much of the last decade but the economy grew by just 5.3 percent in the January-March quarter, a rate that threatens to stall its transformation since the early 1990s.
Singh said that the government would "leave no stone unturned to encourage investment", and vowed to increase spending on much-needed infrastructure projects such as roads, railways and the electricity network.
"To attract foreign capital, we will have to create confidence at the international level that there are no barriers to investment in India," Singh said, signalling that further liberalisation reforms were in the pipeline.
Foreign companies keen to tap into India's emerging consumer market have poured into the country, but have often struggled to thrive amid government policy U-turns, endemic corruption and red tape.
Foreign direct investment into India collapsed by 65 percent year-on-year in the April-June quarter, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
The ruling Congress party is already concerned about general elections due in 2014, and the prime minister has launched a campaign to revive its flagging fortunes since P. Chidambaram was named as finance minister two weeks ago.
Singh, delivering the annual Independence Day address at the Red Fort in Delhi, said that "a difficult phase" for the world economy had merged with India's domestic situation to hinder growth.
"We cannot do much about the conditions that prevail outside our country," he said. "But we must make every effort to resolve the problems inside our country so that our economic growth (is)... again speeded up."
He added that growth must be obtained while controlling inflation, which is likely to be stoked by this year's poor monsoon -- though the headline rate unexpectedly dropped to 6.87 percent in July from 7.25 percent in June.
Singh, 79, who is expected to step down at the end of his term, repeated his forecast that annual GDP growth would exceed last year's rate of 6.5 percent, a prediction dismissed by opposition leaders and many independent economists.
Ratings agency Moody's last week scaled down its growth outlook for Asia's third largest economy to 5.5 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2013.
The Congress-led government elected in 2009 has struggled to push legislation through parliament due to constant protests by opposition parties and even its coalition partners.
Singh blamed the lack of political consensus for the failure to create rapid economic growth and said that the problem was damaging stability in India.
"If we do not increase the pace of the country's economic growth (and) take steps to encourage new investment in the economy... then it most certainly affects our national security," he said.
Among moves that have spooked foreign firms was the announcement followed by the sudden withdrawal of reforms allowing retail giants such as Wal-Mart into India, as well as a retrospective tax bill for Vodafone.
The premier's speech, marking the end of British rule in 1947, also included a vow to provide electricity to all households within five years and proposals for a new law to end the "repulsive practice" of manual removal of human waste.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed the speech as lacklustre and uninspiring.
Police said no one was injured when four roadside bombs exploded in the northeastern state of Manipur, which has seen decades of separatist violence.

Source: http://india.nydailynews.com/newsarticle/cd1ece9aabf62cdde1f0658c0b86d77f/indian-pm-pledges-to-attract-more-foreign-investment

Investment In India | "India approves $371.5 mln FDI proposals"

By: NEW DELHI
Source: http://in.reuters.com
Category: Investment In India

India approved 11 foreign direct investment proposals worth 20.68 billion Indian rupees ($371.5 million) including 8.08-billion-rupee plans of Mauritius-based Cloverdell Investments, a government statement said on Thursday.

The proposals were approved by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

Since taking charge of the ministry last month, Chidambaram has directed officials to put FDI approvals on fast track as part of a drive to revive investor confidence after growth slowed to its slowest pace in nearly a decade. ($1 = 55.67 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Sunil Nair)

Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/06/india-economy-fdi-idIND8E8K300G20120906

Business In India | "To grow business in India, McDonald's is opening vegetarian restaurants"

By: Bloomberg News 
SOurce: http://www.nj.com
Category: Business In India

McDonald’s will swap its trademark burgers for potato sandwiches when it opens two vegetarian restaurants in India next year, the first such outlets globally for the world’s biggest restaurant chain.
The fast-food chain will open two new locations in northern Indian cities that are pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Sikhs, according to Rajesh Kumar Maini, a spokesman for the company’s north and east Indian operations. McDonald’s already keeps beef and pork products off the menu in India, where a majority of the population are Hindus and Muslims.
The attempt to draw religious Indians shows how McDonald’s Corp. is attempting to boost sales by catering to local tastes outside its home market.
The attempt to draw religious Indians shows how the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company is trying to boost sales by appealing to local tastes outside its home market and compete with other chains such as Yum! Brands’s KFC and Pizza Hut.
McDonald’s, which gets more than 60 percent of its revenue from international stores, said last month that it was exploring and evaluating opportunities in Vietnam, where it doesn’t have any stores.
The vegetarian restaurants will sell items such as the McAloo Tikki burger, a sandwich with a mashed-potato patty, and the Pizza McPuff, a vegetable and cheese pastry.
India, the world’s second most populous nation, is important for McDonald’s as it increases sales overseas. The country’s large population, growing urbanization and increasing number of people joining the workforce may help the fast-food industry expand, according to estimates by researcher RNCOS E-Services Pvt.
One of the vegetarian outlets will be in Amritsar, where the Golden Temple, a holy site for Sikhs, is located. The other will be in Katra in Jammu and Kashmir in the north, which houses one of the main pilgrimage sites for Hindu people, according to the spokesman. McDonald’s sells Chicken McNuggets and fish burgers in its regular Indian outlets although its traditional beef burgers aren’t available. The cow is sacred to religious Hindus, who don’t eat beef.
“The new restaurants in pilgrimage areas will be vegetarian-only because of the specific area and customer base,” Becca Hary, a McDonald’s spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. McDonald’s kitchens have always been divided into separate sections for cooking vegetarian and non-vegetarian items in India, she said.
Opening no-meat stores “speaks to McDonald’s efforts to cater to local tastes,” she said.
McDonald’s, which opened its first restaurant in India in 1996, operates as many as 271 stores there now through partnerships with two local Indian companies, Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt. for the north and east, and Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. in the west and south.
McDonald’s isn’t alone in trying to capitalize on the market in India. Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum, which also owns Taco Bell, has about 479 stores in its India division, which includes Bangladesh, Mauritius, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and plans to open 100 stores there this year. Domino’s Pizza has about 500 stores in India and has said the nation can be its second-largest market in three to five years.

Source: http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2012/09/to_grow_business_in_india_mcdo.html

Foreign Investment In India | "Foreign Investors Buy Net 3.03 Billion Rupees Of Indian Stocks"

By: Paresh Jatakia
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com
Category: Foreign Investment In India

Overseas investors bought a net 3.03 billion rupees ($54.2 million) of Indian stocks yesterday, raising their investment in the equities this year to 631.8 billion rupees, according to the nation’s market regulator.
Foreigners bought 16.3 billion rupees of shares and sold 13.3 billion rupees, the Securities & Exchange Board of India said on its website today. They purchased a net 106.1 billion rupees of stocks last month.
The benchmark BSE India Sensitive Index (SENSEX) has increased 12 percent this year, helped by the biggest overseas equity flows among 10 Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg. Flows surged to a record in 2010, making the Sensex the best performer among the world’s top 10 markets. The largest-ever outflow in 2008 led to the biggest annual slump of 52 percent.
Offshore funds bought a net 1.64 billion rupees of bonds yesterday, taking total inflow into debt this year to 248.8 billion rupees, the data show.
Foreigners have invested 5.076 trillion rupees in stocks and 1.456 trillion rupees in bonds since they were allowed into the country in 1993.
The regulator provides data on shares bought and sold by large investors, including trades in the primary and secondary markets, with a delay of at least a day.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-05/foreign-investors-buy-net-3-03-billion-rupees-of-indian-stocks.html

Investment In India | "Mercedes-Benz to scale up investment in India"

By: SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
SOurce: http://www.thehindu.com
Category: Investment In India

German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes Benz will increase its investment to Rs.850 crore in the domestic operations by 2014 as it is preparing to start assemble more of its models here.

Mercedes-Benz India, the Indian subsidiary, has an assembly plant in Chakan near Pune, where it is investing more than Rs.600 crore to scale up operations, the company says in a statement.

CHAKAN PLANT

The Chakan plant started operations in 2009 and scaled up the initial investment of Rs.250 crore to over Rs.600 crore with the setting up of a paint shop. “The investment of Rs.850 crore will enable Mercedes-Benz India to be future-ready,’’ the statement says, quoting Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Peter T. Honegg.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/article3862989.ece

Business In India | "Volkswagen to expand India business, may launch Utility Vehicles"

By:  KETAN THAKKAR,ET BUREAU 
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com
Category: Business In India

MUMBAI: Volkswagen may consider launching a utility vehicle in India as the German car giant looks to expand its portfolio, President and MD Gerry Dorizas has said. "Different growth segments of multi-purpose vehicles or sports utility vehicles and small cars are the part of vision we have (for India)," Dorizas said on Tuesday. "We have to take small strides," he added.

He said Volkswagen will develop its India business further, but only after putting the fundamental structure in place.

Global rivals Renault and Maruti Suzuki have managed to generate sizeable volumes from their recently launched SUVs. The segment is also growing rapidly at a time when demand other type of vehicles is sluggish. Dorizas says the current focus is to build a strong foundation on the existing products, dealers, sales & after sales service.

Volkswagen India has been dabbling with the idea of bringing in the premium SUV 'Tiguan' those shares its underpinnings with the recently launched Audi Q3. The company has also globally showcased a couple of utility vehicles concept called "Volkswagen space up! Concept" and "Bulli Concept" which may spawn utility vehicles for Volkswagen to compete with Ford Ecosport, Renault Duster and the Maruti Ertiga in the future.

Volkswagen India, one of the late entrants in the fast growing passenger car markets in the world, initially attracted a good response to its premium hatchback Polo and sedan Vento, but could not sustain the momentum in 2012. After doubling sales in 2010 and 2011, VW India's numbers in the first half of 2012 declined 3.4 pc.

"I have total trust on the management and our board of directors, I think they have a listening head, but we are still in discussion, we are still creating plans. There are a lot of things, which are under development, I think there will be a time when we would be able to share that with you," Dorizas said. He acknowledged that margin pressure will continue to remain. "Pressure on the margins is an on going thing. It is all changing, we all have to be in touch with changes, we told our dealers, we are team, we have to go all the way and discuss with them in a difficult market condition and adapt ourselves to changes." To cut Polo, Vento prices

Volkswagen Tuesday said it will cut prices of the high-end variants of its Polo and Vento sedans and add a host of new features to boost sales. It will cut prices of the both diesel and petrol variants of Polo by up to Rs 40,000 and of the Vento by Rs 20,000. The Polo highline petrol will now come for Rs 584,400 as against Rs 624,409 (ex-showroom New Delhi). The Polo diesel variant price has been reduced to Rs 694,400 from Rs 736,407, ex-showroom Delhi. "The introduction of new features in Polo and Vento will further excite the customers as both the carlines will offer much more value now... ," said Arvind Saxena, managing director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/auto/automobiles/volkswagen-to-expand-india-business-may-launch-utility-vehicles/articleshow/16259443.cms

Foreign Investment In India | "Foreign Investors Sell Net 471 Million Rupees of Indian Stocks"

By: Paresh Jatakia
Source: http://www.businessweek.com
Category: Foreign Investment In India

Foreign investors sold a net 471 million rupees of Indian equities yesterday, reducing their investment in the nation’s stocks this year to 628.8 billion rupees ($12 billion), according to the market regulator.

Offshore funds bought 16.6 billion rupees of shares and sold 17.1 billion rupees, the Securities & Exchange Board of India said on its website today. They purchased a net 106.1 billion rupees of stocks last month.

The benchmark BSE India Sensitive Index (SENSEX) has increased 13 percent this year, helped by the biggest overseas equity flows among 10 Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg. Flows surged to a record in 2010, making the Sensex the best performer among the world’s top 10 markets. The largest-ever outflow in 2008 led the biggest annual slump of 52 percent.

Offshore funds bought a net 3.43 billion rupees of bonds yesterday, taking total inflow into debt this year to 247.2 billion rupees, the data show.

Foreigners have invested 5.073 trillion rupees in stocks and 1.455 trillion rupees in bonds since they were allowed into the country in 1993.

The regulator provides data on shares bought and sold by large investors, including trades in the primary and secondary markets, with a delay of at least a day.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-04/foreign-investors-sell-net-471-million-rupees-of-indian-stocks

Investment In India | "MonaVie to invest 100 crore in India"

By: TNN
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Category: Investment In India

KOCHI: MonaVie, a US-based multi-level marketing company, is planning to invest Rs 100 crore in manufacturing nutritional energy drinks in India, said Raj Lingam, president for South Asia of the company.

Currently, Kerala is the biggest market for MonaVie, said Lingam. "Twenty per cent of our revenues is generated from the state," he revealed. The Indian arm of the company, headquartered in Chennai, has set up a network of 1.5 lakh distributors, 12 company owned offices and 150 distribution centres. "The company is fast expanding in the north, north-east and Tamil Nadu markets," Lingam said.

Sajiv Nair, a distributor, said apart from anti-oxidant concentrate drinks, the company is marketing soya protein supplement, oats meal and products for weight management. "With the Rs 100 crore investment, it will be able to manufacture all its products in India," he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/MonaVie-to-invest-100-crore-in-India/articleshow/16259277.cms

Investment In India | "India's QFI draws GCC investors in equities "

By: MENAFN - Arab News
Source: http://www.menafn.com
Category: Investment In India

(MENAFN - Arab News) Qualified Foreign Investor (QFI), an investment channel opened by the government of India in the beginning of this year, offers nationals from 45 countries, including the UAE and other GCC countries, to invest in Indian equities and debt instruments.

This move is widely believed to have the potential to attract billions of dollars into India, which is currently among the world's top three investment destinations.

This was announced yesterday at an international seminar that was held at Dubai World Trade Center.

Indian financial and equity market experts who spoke on the occasion said that conservative estimates show that investments into Indian equities, bonds and mutual funds by foreign nationals under QFI route could cross the $ 10 billion mark in two years.

"The UAE and India share extensive trade and commercial bonds. They are also each other's biggest trade partners. The UAE, being a regional trade and investment hub is an ideal location to promote this new initiative," said Sanjay Verma, consul general of India, while inaugurating the seminar, which had participants from over 14 nationalities. He also congratulated IBMC for launching the service.

Commenting on the rationale of holding the international seminar and the QFI regime, Hazza Mohammed Al-Dhaheri, chairman and MD, IBMC Group & JRG International, said Dubai, being the business hub of the region offered a vantage point to launch the service.

The event also marked awarding the first QFI account to Hazza Mohammed Al-Dhaheri by S. Rengarajan, CEO, IL&FS Securities Services Ltd.

"I am happy to be the first Emarati with a QFI account," Hazza Al-Dhaheri told Arab News.

"The new investment route provides direct access to the Indian equity and debt markets for foreign nationals, groups or associations, allowing a wider global investor base to partake the benefits of the Indian growth story," said Sajith Kumar P.K., CEO and director, IBMC Group & JRG International while addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the seminar.

"Foreign investments into Indian stocks and debt instruments were earlier limited to pension funds and FIIS (Foreign Institutional Investors) and the new regime opens up a path-breaking alternative to global investors." Kumar added.

He said QFI has the potential to match or even overtake the current volume of FII investment volumes into the Indian markets in the next two to three years. Overseas investments into Indian stock markets in 2012 has touched $ 12 billion so far including more than $ 1 billion in August this year alone.
QFI holds a lot of potential for Indian markets. There is keen global interest in the resilience of our economy.

Traditionally driven by FIIs and NRIs, foreign capital inflows have gained significant importance and impact local market sentiments. QFIs would broad base the capital flow and further deepen liquidity for Indian markets, said Ashishkumar Chauhan, CEO Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Speaking at the seminar, P.S. Reddy, CEO & MD, Central Depository Services (India) Ltd., said: "India's growth story is to continue in the next few decades. It needs huge investment support both from internal and external sources. QFI route is opened up for those who want to have the benefit of India's growth. There is no better region than Gulf region, which is more inclined toward India as an investment destination."

Rangarajan of ILFS said they are glad to be offering QDP services to QFIs in the Middle East through the IBMC Group. "We are sure that the professional competence and service-oriented approach of ISSL & other institutions involved would definitely make investments in India through QFI route a pleasant experience," he added.

Source: http://www.menafn.com/menafn/1093552641/Indias-QFI-draws-GCC-investors-equities

Foreign Investment In India | "Indian equities eyes big GCC investment "

By: TradeArabia
Source: http://www.tradearabia.com
Category: Foreign Investment In India

The investments into Indian equities, bonds and mutual funds by foreign nationals, mainly those from the GCC, through the new qualified foreign investor (QFI) route could cross the $10 billion mark in the next two years, said experts.

QFI, the new investment channel opened up by the Indian government in the beginning of this year allows foreign nationals from 45 countries from across the world, including the UAE, to invest in Indian equities and debt instruments.

The move is widely believed to have the potential to attract billions of dollars into India, which is currently among the world’s top three investment destinations.

“The new investment route provides direct access to the Indian equity and debt markets for foreign nationals, groups or associations, allowing a wider global investor base to partake the benefits of the Indian growth story,” remarked Sajith Kumar PK, the CEO & director of IBMC Group & JRG International.

According to him, the foreign investments into Indian stocks and debt instruments were earlier limited to pension funds and FIIS (Foreign Institutional Investors) only.

But now with the QFI, the markets have the potential to match or even overtake the current volume of FII investment volumes into the Indian markets in the next two to three years.

Overseas investments into Indian stock markets in 2012 has touched $12 billion so far including more than $1 billion in August this year alone, he added.

Launching the new QFI service, Sanjay Verma, Consul General of India, pointed out that the UAE and India shared extensive trade and commercial bonds and were also each other's biggest trade partners.

"The UAE, being a regional trade and investment hub, is an ideal location to promote this new initiative," said Verma during a first-of-its-kind international seminar held at the Dubai World Trade Centre which was attended by an audience of over 15 nationalities.

The event also marked the awarding of the first QFI account to Hazza Mohammed Al Dhaheri, the chairman and managing director of IBMC Group & JRG International, by S Rengarajan, CEO, IL&FS Securities Services.

Commenting on the rationale of holding the international seminar and the QFI regime, Al Dhaheri said, Dubai, being the business hub of the region offered a vantage point to launch the service.

Bombay Stock Exchange CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said the new QFI holds a lot of potential for Indian markets.

"There is keen global interest in the resilience of our economy. Traditionally driven by FIIs and NRIs, foreign capital inflows have gained significant importance and impact local market sentiments. QFIs would broad-base the capital flow and further deepen liquidity for Indian markets," he explained.

PS Reddy, the CEO  & MD of Central Depository Services (India) said: "India’s growth story is to continue for next few decades. But it needs huge investment support both from internal and external sources."

"The new QFI route is opened up for those who want to have the benefit of India’s growth. There is no better region than Gulf region which is more inclined towards India as an investment destination," he added.-TradeArabia News Service

 Source: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/CM_222571.html

Business In India | "Healthy growth in food business"

By: Atul Sethi, TNN
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Category: Business In India

In foodie terms, it could best be described as a melting pot. The second Indian Restaurant Congress held in New Delhi last week had venture capitalists, marketing gurus, social media specialists, chefs and restaurateurs rubbing shoulders with each other — all with food on their mind. The business of food, that is. What was served to them would have perhaps whetted their appetite for more. According to a report released at the Congress, the Indian food services industry is worth nearly Rs 75,000 crore now and is growing at a healthy compounded annual growth rate of 17%. It is likely to reach Rs 1,37,000 crore by 2015.

For many years, the food business has been seen as a tempting and lucrative opportunity — reflected in the fact that opening a restaurant tops the wish-list of a number of people. But what would make the next few years exciting for the sector is the way the market is rapidly getting organized. Gaurav Marya, president of Franchise India that prepared the report, says that even though 70% of the market is currently dominated by unorganized players, the organized segment has witnessed double-digit growth across formats, especially quick service restaurants driven by international chains, and causal and fine dining outlets dominated by Indian and private equity majors. "In the future, the organized market is expected to grow even faster — at around 20 to 25% per annum," he says.

The growth is accentuated by factors that have been in existence in India since the past few years — namely rise in disposable incomes and families becoming progressively nuclear. This captive audience has led to many investors drooling over the great Indian restaurant bazaar. "With the growing popularity of the food and beverage businesses in India , the investment community has made significant investments here. Last year, these businesses received $ 256mn of funding overall, while this year has already seen $ 43mn being invested," says Sandeep Kohli, who, as the former India head of Yum Restaurants , brought brands like KFC and Pizza Hut to the country.

The proliferation of more outlets, especially across popular categories like quick service or fast food, casual, fine dining as well as food courts may mean more people heading out of home to grab a bite. But it also means the industry has to pull up its socks to meet higher customer expectations . "With a smarter consumer who has multiple options, quality control has to be high and sustainable because consumer loyalty is no longer a given in a cluttered market place," says Kohli.

With increased competition, meeting customer expectations is going to be a challenge, especially for restaurants which are looking at ramping up their operations to reach a wider customer base. "The key area for a restaurant chain is to ensure consistency in service and food standards," says Kabir Advani, managing director of Berco's that serves Chinese and Thai, and has 15 outlets spread across the National Capital Region.

"A person visiting our restaurant in Connaught Place from his office during lunch may visit our Gurgaon outlet for dinner with his family. Naturally, he will expect similar quality. Our job is to ensure we match his expectations wherever he goes." But in order to do that, a good team with an efficient manager and a skilled chef is essential. As the sector expands, retaining talent — a key attribute for the success of a restaurant — is going to be a major headache for restaurateurs. Industry estimates put the requirement of trained manpower in the business at around 30 lakh within the next few years, a number which will grow further as demand increases. Pankaj Chaddah, cofounder of restaurant review site Zomato, says that the industry urgently needs to invest in training and making jobs more lucrative. "There is very little loyalty towards any employer from the staff and they shift for small raises. Even students from hotel management institutes are opting for jobs in other industries related to the service sector ."

Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, who also runs a number of successful multi-brand restaurants, says that the only way to counter this issue is to shift the focus from "customers first" to "employees first." "If your employees are happy, your customers would be happy," he says. "Most of the new entrants to the business are penny wise pound foolish , where they would invest lakhs of rupees to bring in imported lights for their outlet, but would be reluctant to pay Rs 50,000 a month to an effective manager."

Poor employee retention has led to many restaurants shutting shop quickly. But another bottleneck for the industry is the high value of real estate, especially rentals in malls where footfalls might not justify cost of operations. Restaurateurs are working around this problem by opting for revenue-sharing arrangements with landlords. "Partnering with real estate owners is the only viable business model for the future, otherwise high land cost can easily bleed a restaurant," says Rajeev Panjwani , vice-president of the National Restaurant Association of India.

Over-expectation is yet another stumbling block. Kapoor says that most people don't realize that they are getting into a 365-day-a-year job with no holidays.

"Most of the growth is being driven by new entrants who are cash-rich but glamour struck," he says. "They are not aware of the hard side of the business and eventually phase out because of excessive investments in their projects and over estimated sales."

But despite bottlenecks and the inherent risks, it's an exciting time to be in the food business. Chennai-based Mohammed Ali, who runs an online community of people passionate about food, compares it to a marriage. "There are various phases to it — some sweet, some bittersweet . At the end, what counts is passion and, of course, good sense."
A recipe that those eyeing the restaurant pie can take note of. Look out for the burns, though.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Healthy-growth-in-food-business/articleshow/16170428.cms

Foreign Investment In India | "Reserve Bank of India moves to reassure foreign investment"

By: The Information Daily
Source: http://www.egovmonitor.com
Category: Foreign Investment In India

India needs to show it has a stable taxation and investment regime in order to attract foreign direct investment says D. Subbarao, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India 

In a speech to the Asia Society earlier in the week The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) waded into the current debate on retroactive taxation provisions, which the Indian Finance Ministry has now said would be deferred.

The Central Government in its 2012/13 budget introduced a retroactive taxation provision following the government’s defeat in the Supreme Court that threw out the tax demand on the Essar-Vodafone deal.

In addition, the 2012/13 Finance Bill also introduced provisions in which investors would have to demonstrate proactively that they did not need to pay additional taxation rather than relying on the IRS to identify the taxation required

These policies have had an adverse impact on India’s foreign direct investment.  The RBI Governor in his speech and the subsequent question and answer session tried to allay the fears of foreign investors.

D. Subbarao claimed that India still has an investor friendly environment with the central and state governments anxious to attract investment. However, he acknowledged that India needs to demonstrate it has consistent policies which are investor friendly.

"We need to streamline our foreign investment policy and procedures, improve infrastructure, improve our governance," he said.  "Potential foreign investors have to have confidence that India has a stable, predictable, transparent capital sector regime".

Source: http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/53694

Investment In India | "India needs to increase investment in oil, gas fields abroad"

By: IST
Source: http://news.oneindia.in
Category: Investment In India

New Delhi, Sept 1: With energy security intrinsically linked to economic growth, there was a need for increased investments in oil and gas fields abroad by both private and public sectors, a senior External Affairs Ministry official said on Aug 31.
Sanjay Sinha, Secretary (East) in MEA, said, India require uninterrupted energy supply at affordable prices and there was a need for developing renewable and unconventional sources of energy to increase energy efficiency.
He was speaking after releasing the book 'Energy Security and Economic Development in India: A Holistic Approach' authored by Bala Bhaskar, posted in the Indian Embassy in Washington.
"India requires uninterrupted energy supply at affordable prices and only energy security can ensure it. India's economic progress will be dependent on energy security," Sinha said.
He emphasised the need for reducing the widening demand-supply gap and batted for increased investments in oil and gas fields abroad by both the private and the public sector.
"We also need to develop renewable and unconventional sources of energy to increase energy efficiency. Safety of energy transport routes should also be ensured," he said.
Introducing his book, Bhaskar said, "The geo-political situation today makes it imperative that India ensure energy security keeping in mind the present and future challenges."
In his book, Bhaskar said that he has made an attempt to undertake a comprehensive study of India's energy reserves apart from focusing on the link between energy and economic growth.
Providing policy suggestions to improve energy efficiency and conservation, the book, Bhaskar said, also elucidates the geopolitical dynamics and underpins the role of energy diplomacy in achieving energy security.
VS Senthil, Principal Secretary in Kerala government, said, "If there is any country that is expected to maintain an average six per cent growth for the next 30 years, it is India."
"For increasing and sustaining this growth rate, we need to have a competitive edge by securing our energy basket and welcoming private investment in the sector," he said.

Source: http://news.oneindia.in/2012/09/01/indianeeds-to-increase-investment-in-oil-gas-fieldsabroad-1063386.html